Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of Oboronprom, part of State Corporation Rostec, has delivered two multirole commercial Ka-32A11BC helicopters to Sino-Russian Helicopter Technology Company, based in Qingdao, China. The Ka-32A11BCs were built by Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise, part of Russian Helicopters.

The helicopters will be operated for commercial purposes by Citic General Aviation. A contract for 20 helicopters for Sino-Russian Helicopter Technology Company was signed in 2011, and the first two helicopters have already been delivered and are now operating successfully in China. Another four Ka-32A11BCs are planned for delivery by the end of the year under the contract.

“The Ka-32A11BC is one of the best helicopters in its class. It holds Chinese type certification and has great potential for markets in this region, where demand for all-round helicopters is continuing to grow,” said Russian Helicopters Deputy CEO for Sales and Marketing Grigory Kozlov.

The helicopter is superbly suited to China’s mountain ranges and booming cities thanks to its unique coaxial rotor system, which allows it to land and take off in tight and unprepared spaces, and to manoeuvre in both mountainous terrain and heavily built-up cityscapes. The Ka-32A11BC has been designed to fly search-and-rescue missions, fight fires and evacuate sick and wounded people. It is also widely used for high-rise construction work, cargo transportation on an external sling and to support logging operations.

The fleet of Ka-32A11BCs in China is expanding rapidly as demand increases. Earlier this year a Ka-32A11BC belonging to the Chinese State Oceanic Administration was at the centre of global media attention as it played a key role in rescuing passengers from the Academician Shokalsky research vessel after the ship became trapped in Antarctic sea ice.

In addition to China, the Ka-32A11BC holds type certification in the EU, as well as Chile, Mexico, South Korea, Canada, Australia and other countries. Ka-32 type helicopters successfully operate in various modifications in Spain, Portugal, Columbia, Switzerland, Japan, China, Brazil and Taiwan. To date more than 140 of these helicopters have been built, and around half operate outside Russia.